The present invention relates to an air conditioner for a vehicle with a condenser designed as a block of tubes and ribs with lateral collecting tubes arranged on both sides, and with a dryer for a refrigerant contained in a collector.
In known air conditioners for vehicles, a unit composed of a refrigerant collecting container, called a collector for short, and a dryer is located somewhere at a suitable point in the engine compartment and is connected by lines and releasable connections with the condenser. The unit composed of the dryer and collector is replaced approximately every two years to make sure the refrigerant in the cooling circuit remains free of water. As a rule, this unit composed of the collector and the dryer is traversed by all of the refrigerant.
An object of the present invention is to improve an air conditioner of the above-described general type with respect to operating safety and space requirements.
This and other objects are achieved by the present invention which provides a collector arranged parallel to a collecting tube of the condenser to form a structural unit therewith, and by a dryer having a cage-like sleeve, in which a dryer granulate is located in a refrigerant-permeable bag.
With the present invention, there are no screw connections or lines to a collector located separately, so that the result is greater system tightness and a smaller required amount of refrigerant. In addition, there is the advantage that the entire collector need not be removed but only the dryer with the bag and the dryer granulate, i.e. a dryer cartridge. This also entails lower costs and less material to be disposed of when a dryer is changed and hence improved environmental friendliness. Since as a rule the condenser is located at a relatively readily accessible location, the dryer is also readily accessible for replacement, so that installation work can be performed simply and economically.
In order to improve exchangeability even further, in certain embodiments the upper end of the collector is provided with a removable cover that closes an opening whose cross-section is greater than the cross-section of the cage-shaped sleeve. After the cover is removed, the cage-shaped sleeve with the dryer granulate can easily be removed at the top. It is especially advantageous in this connection for the cover to be made in the form of a screw so that simple installation is possible.
In certain embodiments of the invention, provision is made for the cover to contain a pressure sensor or pressure switch. This makes it possible to locate such a pressure sensor or pressure switch at a favorable location so that it is readily accessible.
In certain embodiments of the invention, provision is made for the sleeve to be provided on its exterior with elastic spacers which hold the sleeve in the collector while leaving an annular gap. This ensures that the dryer comes into sufficient contact with the liquid refrigerant without being traversed by all of the refrigerant.
In certain embodiments of the invention, provision is made for the sleeve to be provided at a distance from its lower end with a bottom and for a level sensor to be located in this area of the collector. This makes it possible in advantageous fashion to locate a level sensor at a suitable location to permit effective monitoring of the refrigerant quantity.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.